As some of you may recall, the post-feminist in me always prided herself in never having drank the wedding Kool-Aid. I always turned my nose up at anything related to the über girly cult of weddings (the big dress, tablescapes, party favors, you name it.) I was that cynical bridesmaid who would purposefully plant myself outside on a cell phone break during the bouquet toss. Snooty and wrong, I know.
Let’s be honest, though, most bridal magazines repeat the same saccharine articles over and over again. They don’t make the wedding world look very modern or appealing. Thanks to the online revolution, though, a small but growing group of wedding blogs have sprung up that practically put their magazine counterparts to shame with surprisingly useful bits of advice on how to stay within a budget, off-the-beaten-path ideas for decor, and ways to find the best deals on florists, photographers and more. The brides on these sites aren’t necessarily walking down the aisle to Mendelssohn dressed in Vera Wang. They’re re-working age-old traditions, while rocking brands like Threeasfour (see the photo above). Here are a few worth checking out.
from Style Me Pretty
Consider this The Sartorialist of bridal blogs. Abby Larson’s Style Me Pretty is arguably the most established and popular, with a staggeringly large real weddings photo gallery and a Google partnership to boot. For those of you who live in the U.S., it also has a pretty extensive database of American photographers, florists and caterers.
from The Bride's Cafe
Virginia based florist Janie Medley started her blog, The Bride’s Cafe, two years ago and has since earned a worldwide following of brides from Moscow to the south of France who are looking for unique ways to personalize their wedding. Highlights include the diverse range of couples featured on her site and her many floral ideas.
from Once Wed
Another blog with an international flair (real-life wedding stories come from Australia, Sweden and London, to name a few) this website is the place to go for non-traditionalists. Many of the couples whom blogger Emily Newman features on Once Wed are highly creative fashion and graphic design types who don’t necessarily believe in the big, fluffy white dress. That’s a good thing.
from 100 Layer Cake
Founded by Jillian Clark, Amanda Halbrook and Kristina Hedrick Meltzer, 100 Layer Cake is the go-to for D.I.Y. brides who are looking for cool projects that they can put together themselves: floral centerpieces, place cards, lanterns, you name it. The blog is especially useful in an economy that makes lavish, expensive weddings unrealistic for most.
The traditional wedding style definitely needed reinvigorating!
the wedding industry is on steroids! i just did new york magazine’s wedding event and it’s truly insane. with all the magazines, experts, site and blogs, the modern bride has a plethora of resources from which to choose. and while there’s plenty of traditional style left, the trend definitely seems to have moved towards the chic, understated, creative, personally detailed but all very beautiful wedding. and let’s be frank, people are getting married later and they’re paying it for themselves. but the talent pool of creative wedding vendors is amazingly good, as you so aptly noted.
Kathleen you are so right! As much as I value tradition, it’s a relief to at least see the fashion side of that industry move away from the meringues.
I’ve spotted the neatest centerpiece essential accessories for my celebration tables. There’re named water beads. They preserve cut blooms fresh and shimmer like mad in eleven distinctive hues. Y’all may want to take a look at them.
Planning your wedding is definitely a tall task compared to organizing other events. Two reason why would-be brides get stressed over wedding designs is that they intend to do this only two time. Since weddings can only be completed so plenty of times, couples try to build the most memorable event ever.
Hey, I would like to add a great wedding photographer that I met in cali. His web address is http://www.americanweddingcenter.com He does some really good work
isn’t it the happiest moment in our lives when we see the woman we love in a Pure white wedding dress?.`*: